


For Old Times' Sake

by yeska_noka



Category: Hey! Say! JUMP, Johnny's Entertainment, Johnny's Jr., Kis-My-Ft2 (Band), Ya-ya-yah (Band)
Genre: Childhood Friends, Friendship, Hand Jobs, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Kissing, M/M, Mentioned Inoo Kei/Yaotome Hikaru, Minor Yabu Kota/Yaotome Hikaru, Nostalgia, Pre-Debut Kis-My-Ft2, Relationship Advice, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-28
Updated: 2010-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:08:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24104161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeska_noka/pseuds/yeska_noka
Summary: Nikaido and Yaotome used to be best friends. But they've both moved on, and they're okay with that. Today is just a trip down memory lane.Established Yabu/Hikaru, non-established Nika/Senga.
Relationships: Nikaido Takashi/Yaotome Hikaru





	For Old Times' Sake

Hikaru enjoys guesting on The Shounen Club. He loves getting to work with friends that he otherwise rarely sees, loves the activity and the bustle and the excitement. It's nobody's show, and everybody's show, all at once. An otherwise unique experience that he'd looked forward to every month, and he's glad when he has the opportunity to come back.

Today, however, Hikaru is just tired. He's been working hard, preparing the new single, promoting, advertising, filming other shows, doing photoshoots... the antics of the younger juniors still make him smile, but mostly, Hikaru just wants to sleep. He's still got over an hour before he has to be anywhere, and so he sneaks away, searches around until he finds a quiet, almost-empty room.

He's hit with a sudden wave of nostalgia as he realizes who he's looking at. Nikaido is sprawled on his back, legs stretched out across the couch and an arm thrown over his face to block the light. Hikaru stops and stares.

They used to be best friends.

It's not that they had a falling out, or anything at all, really. They just grew up, grew apart. Hikaru thinks about it, but can't really remember when it happened. As they got older, they got busier and busier, work replaced sleepovers. Senga moved up from Nagoya, groups were reshuffled, the Ya-Ya-yah Show stopped being aired, and the group was replaced with Hey! Say! JUMP. Without Shoon and Taiyou, Hikaru clung to Yabu more, and somewhere in the process of it all, Nikaido... disappeared. He didn't leave, didn't go anywhere, but by the time Hikaru realized it, he'd lost Nikaido, too.

They're still friendly, there are no hard feelings between them, but... there's nothing else, either, except memories. A powerful wave of longing hits Hikaru as he watches Nikaido sleep, and he crosses the room before he can stop himself. Maybe he's just tired, he thinks, because he feels he needs an explanation for why he squishes himself onto the edge of the couch, nudging Nikaido over with his hip so that he can sit without falling off. Nikaido jerks awake, looking blearily out from under his arm to see who's woken him up.

"Rightfully I should just kick you off the couch," Hikaru says, forcing cheerfulness in the suddenly-awkward atmosphere. "But I'm a good sempai, so I'll be nice and let you share."

Hikaru finds his heart pounding as Nikaido blinks up at him for a moment, but then Nikaido snorts softly and just shifts over to make room. Hikaru is only sempai in the sense that he was lucky enough to debut first, but Nikaido doesn't call him on it. Hikaru thinks Nikaido must be just as tired as Hikaru feels.

Hikaru stretches out next to him, watching as Nikaido's eyes drop shut again. It's strange, he thinks, how different Nikaido looks. He's beautiful, and not at all the little kid that Hikaru knew.

"Don't stare at me," Nikaido mumbles without opening his eyes, and Hikaru flushes hot with embarrassment.

"Sorry," he mutters back, and rolls slightly to stare at the ceiling before closing his own eyes. Hikaru wonders what Nikaido sees when he looks at _him_.

Nikaido feels different, too, slightly warm through their clothes where they're pressed together, slender and toned; Hikaru's elbow only encounters the firmness of muscle where it digs into Nikaido's side. So very different, again, and distracting. But the same feelings of longing and nostalgia wash over him again, bringing him back to the times when they'd lay curled up in Hikaru's bed when they were in junior high, too old for sleepovers, but clinging to the vestiges of a normal life as the world of Johnny's caught them up in its whirlwind.

Hikaru is not unhappy; in fact, he's the complete opposite, thrilled to be debuted with a great group of people and excited to be able to write his own songs. But Nikaido reminds him of the path along the way, and while Hikaru wouldn't turn back, he misses some of what he's apparently left behind.

Despite his swirling thoughts, Hikaru is startled awake by the sudden ring of Nikaido's cell phone, and it takes him a moment to realize he'd fallen asleep. Nikaido sits up next to him, fumbling for his phone, although he doesn't answer it.

"Alarm," Nikaido says, snapping it open and cutting off the sound. He flops back down with a groan. "I've got maybe ten minutes before I have to be really awake." He stretches, but doesn't close his eyes again. "...what?" Nikaido asks.

"Ah," Hikaru bites his lip, caught staring this time. "Nothing."

Nikaido raises an eyebrow.

"It's just, you look different," Hikaru explains, but Nikaido only looks confused.

"Different from what?"

"From when you were little."

Nikaido chuckles. "Yeah, well so do you. That's what happens, you know?"

Hikaru is glad that Nikaido still seems comfortable around him. "I know," he admits, and stares openly when Nikaido rolls onto his side to face him. Even looking into his eyes, he can't tell what Nikaido is thinking, and lets himself get lost in their beauty.

"Hikaru?" Nikaido asks eventually, and Hikaru is glad that he doesn't add a "-kun" to it; that would hurt.

"Can I come over after?" Hikaru blurts before he can think about it too hard. He's not sure what, exactly, he's asking for.

Nikaido is silent for long enough that Hikaru can hear his own heartbeat in his ears drowning out Nikaido's breathing, but then Nikaido says yes and Hikaru feels both relieved and even more nervous all at once.

Nikaido's mother is clearly surprised to see Hikaru, but she welcomes him warmly, exclaiming over how much he's grown. Hikaru hasn't seen her for a few years at least, and he's surprised to see that she also looks older, but prettier than he remembers. Possibly it's just that he's old enough now to see her for the person she is, and not as _Nika's Mom_.

Nikaido's room looks much the same as it always has, more accessories visible here and there in little dishes and hooks around the room, a newer TV and computer, different bedding, but the same set of manga on the top of his bookshelf and the same desk with the same pictures. Hikaru glances at them, and there are some new additions, but he's surprised to find the framed photo of the two of them still on display.

There's also a picture of Nikaido and Senga, grinning brightly together, next to a picture of just Senga, looking... entirely gorgeous, Hikaru admits to himself. He ignores the strange flash of jealousy that shoots through him, because it's unreasonable. He knows Senga is Nikaido's best friend now, and probably more than that, although Hikaru has never asked. It shouldn't matter.

Hikaru looks away and spies the flashlight placed just under the edge of Nikaido's bed. He has a sudden urge to laugh, and wonders if any girls that Nikaido has brought home (if he's brought any home - Hikaru doesn't know) know that when Nikaido says it's in case of earthquakes or other emergencies, that it's a total lie. _Senga probably knows_ , says the voice in Hikaru's head, and he ignores it, stoops to pick up the light and flick it on.

"Still afraid of ghosts?" Hikaru teases, and reaches over to switch off the lights. Nikaido looks startled in the beam of the flashlight, holds up a hand to shield his eyes, but doesn't argue.

"You remember?"

"How could I not?" Hikaru laughs, and thinks back to when they used to sit up and talk under a blanket with the flashlight, so the ghosts wouldn't get them. "Come here."

He yanks Nikaido's duvet clear and grabs Nikaido's wrist, tugging him to sit on the bed.

"What...?"

"You'll see," Hikaru explains, and sits facing Nikaido. He leans down and pulls the duvet back up, tosses it over their heads like a tent. Nikaido flails for a second before getting his face free, looking across the dim light at Hikaru.

"You really _do_ remember." Nikaido smiles.

They're tall enough that the duvet doesn't cover them completely and it works perfectly, enough space around the bottom for air to flow and not leave them stifled beneath their makeshift tent.

"So," Hikaru starts. "Tell me about life."

Hikaru knows about Kis-My-Ft2's concerts, of course, both the ones last year and the ones coming up, and about PLAYZONE, but it's different to hear about them from Nikaido. It's different to hear how he _feels_ about it. Nikaido doesn't say the word, refuses to, but Hikaru can taste the longing and the hope that maybe this time will be _it_. He knows how it feels and doesn't, and he in turn tells Nikaido everything, spills out his worry and confusion and happiness, tells him about Taiyou and Shoon and Yabu, about Hey! Say! JUMP and everything he's sure and unsure about.

They talk until they both have nothing more to say, and it might have been minutes or hours, Hikaru can't tell, but he meets Nikaido's eyes across the upturned beam of the flashlight and feels his throat close up with sudden, overwhelming emotion.

"Nika," he chokes out, taking a deep breath past the pressure in his chest, "I really missed you."

"Yeah," Nikaido says, sounding just as rough, and before he can think about it, Hikaru is leaning across the space between them to press his mouth to Nikaido's in an awkward kiss.

His heart leaps into his throat as his brain catches up with his mistake, but then Nikaido is kissing him back and Hikaru forgets to panic. It feels... familiar, although he's never kissed Nikaido before. But the _way_ he kisses is so very _him_ somehow, and Hikaru thinks that he would have been able to recognize Nikaido by his kiss even having not ever experienced it before.

He has a clear moment as Nikaido tugs him down, and in that instant, Hikaru knows that this is not the start of something new. They're not going to suddenly be good friends again, but it's as if they're tying up loose ends, saying everything there is to say. A "good-bye, thank you," as it were, and they'll continue to be friendly, but _continue_ is the key; they each have their own separate lives now.

A first time, a last time: closure.

Hikaru follows as Nikaido pulls him close, kisses him until he feels light-headed. The covers have all been shoved to the side, the flashlight dropped next to them and reflecting half-buried light, just enough that Hikaru can make out the glitter of Nikaido's eyes in the dark. He doesn't want to ask, but makes himself say it anyway.

"Won't Senga be upset?"

"Won't Yabu?" Nikaido counters.

 _Yes_ , Hikaru thinks, but Hikaru's going to do it anyway, and that's probably Nikaido's point. He doesn't answer out loud, just leans down to kiss Nikaido again.

Nikaido lets him slip away as Hikaru shifts off to the side, staying close enough to keep kissing him, but getting enough distance between them that it becomes easier for Hikaru to get a hand down to palm Nikaido's cock through his clothing. Nikaido isn't hard, not yet, but Hikaru rubs at him until he starts to respond. Their tongues slide together in a messy kiss that makes Hikaru ache for more, his own cock throbbing when Nikaido nips at his tongue.

It's rough and desperate, the way they grab at each other. Hikaru lets Nikaido roll him onto his side and they fumble to get their jeans out of the way. Nikaido gets a hand around them both, rubbing them together, and Hikaru groans and pushes his hips even closer, no hope of holding out for long. He gets a bit distracted, though, because Nikaido doesn't feel like Yabu at all. He's smaller than Hikaru, for starters, and his arm is more muscular than Yabu's when Hikaru grabs on to him, nerves tingling with want. Nikaido's stroke is different, too, but still good, pressure in spots that Hikaru isn't used to, and it makes Hikaru gasp at the unexpected pleasure of it.

He squeezes Nikaido's arm in warning, but Nikaido is already tensing against him, the slide of his hand becoming slick and fast as he spreads his come across their skin, and Hikaru can't help but follow. He chokes back a groan as he spills himself between them, Nikaido slowing his strokes to work them through it. Hikaru relaxes his death-grip on Nikaido's arm as they both come down, a whispered " _sorry_ " as he smoothes his fingers over Nikaido's bicep. The light is much too dim for Hikaru to see, but'd certainly been clinging on tight enough to leave bruises.

"'s okay," Nikaido mumbles, and doesn't move away.

It's like a bit of growing up that they missed doing together, experimentally jerking off at the same time or something, and Hikaru actually doesn't know who Nikaido has had any of his firsts with. Hikaru's first time getting off with someone, touching someone, was, surprisingly, with Inoo. It was weird and awkward and nice, but since he has to work with Inoo all the time now, it's something he tries not to think about, ever.

He asks Nikaido about his firsts, just for fun.

"...Senga will be upset, won't he?" Hikaru asks later, curious, and feels for Nikaido's arm in the dark, flashlight extingushed.

He feels Nikaido's shrug. "Maybe a little. But it's not like that," Nikaido explains. "He... we're not... we're just friends."

"So why did I hear something about him claiming to be your lover?" Hikaru teases, and the jealousy doesn't flare up like it had earlier.

"Ah... well..."

"Friends with benefits?" Hikaru prompts, and doesn't give Nikaido time to say anything more than a confirmation. "Because he wants to be with you for real," Hikaru continues. "Even _I_ know that."

"No, I know that, too," Nikaido agrees.

"Then?"

"I _will_. Just..." Nikaido pauses. "...when I figure out how to."

"What?" Hikaru laughs. "Just do it."

"It's not that easy!"

"It is!" Hikaru grins. "How do you think I got Yabu?"

"I—"

"Just tell him you love him," Hikaru interrupts.

"He knows that I do."

" _Everybody_ knows that you do," Hikaru says. "That's not the point."

In the end, they decide that they'll have to go out and have a few drinks together every now and then, share love advice and all that stereotypical stuff - starting next year, of course, when they're both legal.

They'll never be the friends they might have been, had things been different, and that's okay. They are who they are now, and they're happy with that, content with their lives and with the cordial relationship they do have. They have their memories, they'll have _this_ memory, and they'll have the future.

"I'm keeping my eye on you, kouhai," Hikaru says as they part the next day, winking dramatically. Nikaido grins and goes with it.

"Then watch well, _sempai_ , 'cause we'll be putting on quite a show..."


End file.
